


In Shining Armor

by Shujinkakusama



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, Multi, Polyamory, Timeline What Timeline, two twosomes that overlap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 08:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8525773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shujinkakusama/pseuds/Shujinkakusama
Summary: Amethyst is the only one allowed to pick on Pearl. When she stands up for her fellow Crystal Gem to Peridot's teasing, she gets more than she bargained for as thanks. // Polygems, Pearlnet, Pearlmethyst, fluff.





	

Pearl enjoyed household chores much the way her sisters would have, had upper crust Gems been the sort of Gems to make and leave messes for their servants to clean up. It was an odd quirk, really; for all the ways that she had rebelled against the Diamond Authority and its teachings, she had remained largely the same Gem she’d always been. Neatness and orderliness were mandatory, sometimes to the point of that need being _maddening_ , distracting, an itch she couldn’t wait to scratch away at. Amethyst didn’t understand—and truthfully, neither did Garnet or Steven, but they at least accepted it at face value.

 

It had come as something of a shock when Amethyst vehemently defended her against Peridot’s teasing; Peridot had been squawking the same Homeworld rhetoric of months ago over Pearl prioritizing cleaning over whatever disaster she’d created back at the barn with Lapis, and Amethyst had shut her down faster than Pearl could blink.

 

It was… nice. Being defended.

 

It was also very, very _weird,_ coming from Amethyst.

 

Pearl worked hard to understand the others, more now than ever, but Amethyst in particular eluded understanding her sometimes. Garnet didn’t have many answers for her, and that was even more infuriating.

 

“You’ll have to ask her yourself,” Garnet said sagely, running deft fingers up through Pearl’s downy hair in a rare public show of affection that made her shiver. Whatever they had went unnamed, but Pearl liked to think it was a kind of love—maybe not comparable to what she’d had with Rose Quartz, but striking all the same. Pearl would have torn down the sky for Garnet’s sake, but after all these years, knew that the same could be said of Amethyst.

 

She just didn’t occupy her resting moments thinking about _kissing_ Amethyst.

 

Usually.

 

And then there were moments like this, long after Peridot had flounced off via warp, leaving the two alone, where Pearl wanted to do exactly that. Amethyst had wandered into the kitchen to destroy the pantry’s contents just out of earshot, and that left Garnet and Pearl near the Temple door.

 

“Go on,” Garnet said, smiling gently and giving Pearl a little nudge.

 

“What do I—Garnet, I don’t know what to _say_ ,” Pearl spluttered, cheeks tinged blue. She worried her hands nervously. “The opportune moment to say something _passed_.”

 

Garnet cast a glance toward the kitchen, where she could scarcely make out the back of Amethyst’s head, and she ducked down for a quick kiss. “Start with ‘thank you’, and go from there.”

 

Pearl stumbled forward when Garnet nudged her again, but she didn’t protest. She drew in a quaking breath, still quite nervous, and slipped into the kitchen area without a sound. “Amethyst?”

 

“Woah! P, you scared me!” Amethyst squeaked, looking down from her current perch atop the refrigerator. “What’s up?”

 

“You, for some reason,” Pearl said, quirking a brow at the purple Gem. “Why are you up there?”

 

“Secret chips stash, yo!” She produced said chips—well expired, by the dust on the bag—from behind a long-unused cake cover. Pearl made a face that didn’t quite hide her displeasure at the very idea. “Why’re you down there?”

 

The easy thing to do would have been to argue; the floor was the right place to stand, and they weren’t animals, and if Steven caught on to Amethyst’s fridge climbing _he_ could get seriously hurt, so she should come down right now—but none of that lead to the _thank you_ Pearl owed her. She drew in a deep breath, exhaling through her nose.

 

“I wanted to… thank you,” she said slowly, and it tasted strange on her tongue. Amethyst looked completely lost at that, and Pearl hurried to add; “For what you said to Peridot earlier. You acted before I could, and—“

 

“It’s no big deal, P,” Amethyst said quickly, clamoring down onto the counter instead, where she was approximately eye-level with Pearl. “You looked like, actually upset.”

 

“W-well,” Pearl stammered, flushing a bit. “I was. It was totally inappropriate of her, and I thought by now she knew _better_ , so—“

 

“So I shot her down, ‘cause she doesn’t know when to quit,” Amethyst said almost gently. She waved one hand. “And that’s it. No thanks required. You don’t owe me for standing up for you, P. Besides, it’s only funny when I tease you.”

 

Pearl frowned a little, because she certainly didn’t see the humor in it, most of the time. But she didn’t know what to say from here; Amethyst wouldn’t accept her gratitude, and that felt… wrong.

 

“Amethyst,” Garnet said, appearing behind the counter to lean against it. “Pearl would like to show you how grateful she is.”

 

Both Gems in question looked up at her sharply, at the mischievous smile that graced Garnet’s full lips, and Pearl felt her cheeks tinge even more blue. “Garnet, I—“

 

“Is it gonna be weird?” Amethyst asked, visibly flustered as well. “Because I don’t want—a servant for the day deal, or something dumb like that. I don’t need anything.”

 

Garnet turned her guarded gaze onto Pearl with a pointed nod. “Go ahead,” she said, “Be open and honest, Pearl. I don’t mind.”

 

Pearl could have sworn the heat in her cheeks alone could burn the house down, but Garnet’s encouragement had to come from a place of knowing that the outcome wouldn’t be disastrous. She had never been the sort to tease her that way.

 

Amethyst stared at Pearl’s vivid blush, which seemed to be catching, and swallowed hard. “P? You got somethin’ to say?”

 

“I do,” Pearl managed, and she drew in a deep breath, determined to screw her courage to the sticking-place. The worst that could happen was Amethyst would say no. She could endure a century of teasing about this.

 

“So spit it out already—“

 

“Amethyst,” Garnet warned, “Give her the chance to actually get a word in.”

 

Wide blue eyes met indigo, and Pearl moved forward, reaching to cup Amethyst’s burning cheeks in her hands. “I’d like to kiss you,” she said finally, and the weight that left her with those five words was immeasurable. “As a thank you.”

 

“P, are you sure—“

 

“I’m very sure,” Pearl promised, “I… I’m just not sure _you_ want to.”

 

“Uh, do you pay attention at all, Pierogi? Of course I do!” Amethyst said, looking away—but Pearl’s hands held her face firmly, and there were only so many inches between them, rapidly dwindling. “I just figured, you and Garnet…”

 

“I don’t mind sharing,” Garnet assured her smoothly, earning two sets of startled looks. “I think the three of us have been a long time coming, don’t you?”

 

“Garnet…”

 

The Fusion smiled, nodding. “Go on. You both want to. Why not?”

 

Relief spread across Pearl’s face, in time for Amethyst to pull her forward, catching her mouth in a sloppy kiss that wasn’t quite the stuff of Pearl’s daydreams. The much older Gem drew back, angled her head a bit differently, and leaned in for a proper kiss, where teeth didn’t clack together and Amethyst was starry-eyed when she drew away.

 

“Holy smokes,” Amethyst whispered, earning a smile from Pearl, and she turned her gaze toward Garnet. “You two do this, uh, often, right? P’s got practice?”

 

“You _could_ practice some more,” Garnet said encouragingly, needling them on. Pearl looked privately pleased with Amethyst’s reaction. Amethyst looked like she might melt off the counter. “Steven won’t be back until evening.”


End file.
